Page 37 of Fated In Forever
“Or my fucking head,” Finn said. “Any ideas?”
I sighed, then shouldered myself past them, greedily letting my knuckles brush against Vicious’ arm on the way by, losing myself in the velvety softness of her skin. I gathered my magic—so much more mercurial—and melted the walls into sheets of smooth stone, sealing the metal blades inside.
“Well, that’s fucking handy,” Blake groused, “you couldn’t have done that with the floor?”
No, the runes would have still worked, the crossing would have still been dangerous.I glanced to Evangeline.I will not take chances with her life.
Yeah, well, neither will I.
One by one, they gingerly passed through, Evangeline went last, and every breath in my chest paused until she was safely across. And on we went.
Why won’t you talk to me?I closed my eyes, wishing I could shut out that raw hurt in her voice.What did I do that was so wrong? Please tell me, so I can fix this.
Pain exploded, piercing my heart, and I bowed over, clutching my chest.
None of this was her fault, none of it, and it killed me that she wouldever—for a single minute—imagine she was to blame.
When we stopped again, I looked at her.Really looked. Into those stormy blue eyes that had always seen straight through me, had seen the better part of me. She’d seen meat my worst, and still found something inside me worth saving. Believed in me, when no one else had.
She deserved the truth.
Which was, perhaps, not a kindness, but I couldn’t help myself. I could no longer refuse the yearning in her eyes, the gentle demand in her voice. I couldn’t allow her to go through the rest of her life, blaming herself for what was about to happen.
I shoved down the darkness, sealed the shadows off, and when I was sure it was safe, I opened the door, just a crack.
Because I’m running out of time, Vicious. I don’t want you to see what happens next, and if I had my way, you’d be safely in Ireland, a thousand miles away from this horrible place.
Her breath hitched, Riordan’s head whipping around at the sound.You said?—
I know what I said. I lied. Or maybe I just wanted it to be true.
But this ritual…Her eyes glossed over with confusion.Why are we here, then?
We came here for you. Brendan’s ritual…is for you. Because I’m slowly being corrupted and I can’t have you shackled to a monster. I feel myself fading with every step, and when I’m gone, really, really gone… there won’t be anything left but this.
I spread my arms, let her see the wreck I’d become.
Her bottom lip jutted out.Then we’ll find a way to undo this. There’s magic down here, you can use my blood again, Brendan knows spells…I have The Book. We can’t just give up.
No.I cut her off, wishing I could soften the blow, wishing she still hated me. Don’t make this harder than it already is. I’m still me, for now, so let me make the choice. Let me end things on my own terms, knowing you’re safe. Don’t make me go to my end wondering if I’ve condemned you to a life of misery.
The others gathered around something up ahead, obliviousto what passed between us. Only Blake kept glancing back, watching me closely.
Vicious reached up, brushed her fingers along the edge of my jaw, and in that moment, I mourned everything I was giving up, written in her beautiful face. Decades of whispered promises and tender moments, centuries of a life spent together.
A love that transcended time itself.
I closed my eyes, shut out that future, cut off those possibilities for good.
But her touch on my skin burned, like her fingers were forged from fire, like she was branding herself on me, somehow. “I never needed you to be anything but who you were, Malachi,” she whispered. “I just neededyou.”
“We got it,” Finn’s voice echoed past me into the darkness. “Let’s keep going.”
The tunnels sloped downward, deeper into the heart of the mountain, where the magic was thick enough to taste, scraping along my skin, pulling me downward. The walls were blacker, made of almost pure obsidian, something I hadn’t noticed before, or perhaps this was a different way down, a path the mountain had opened up just for us.
The chamber waited—had always waited—for this moment.
For the perfect alignment of magic and flesh and secrets to come together. All I hoped, the one promise I’d made Brendan swear, was I would not drag Evie with me into the shadows.
